/**************************************************************************** ** ** Copyright (C) 2012 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies). ** Contact: http://www.qt-project.org/ ** ** This file is part of the documentation of the Qt Toolkit. ** ** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:FDL$ ** GNU Free Documentation License ** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Free ** Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software ** Foundation and appearing in the file included in the packaging of ** this file. ** ** Other Usage ** Alternatively, this file may be used in accordance with the terms ** and conditions contained in a signed written agreement between you ** and Nokia. ** ** ** ** ** ** $QT_END_LICENSE$ ** ****************************************************************************/ /*! \page unix-signals.html \title Calling Qt Functions From Unix Signal Handlers \brief You can't. But don't despair, there is a way... \ingroup platform-specific \ingroup best-practices You \e can't call Qt functions from Unix signal handlers. The standard POSIX rule applies: You can only call async-signal-safe functions from signal handlers. See \l {http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/000095399/functions/xsh_chap02_04.html#tag_02_04_01} {Signal Actions} for the complete list of functions you can call from Unix signal handlers. But don't despair, there is a way to use Unix signal handlers with Qt. The strategy is to have your Unix signal handler do something that will eventually cause a Qt signal to be emitted, and then you simply return from your Unix signal handler. Back in your Qt program, that Qt signal gets emitted and then received by your Qt slot function, where you can safely do whatever Qt stuff you weren't allowed to do in the Unix signal handler. One simple way to make this happen is to declare a socket pair in your class for each Unix signal you want to handle. The socket pairs are declared as static data members. You also create a QSocketNotifier to monitor the \e read end of each socket pair, declare your Unix signal handlers to be static class methods, and declare a slot function corresponding to each of your Unix signal handlers. In this example, we intend to handle both the SIGHUP and SIGTERM signals. Note: You should read the socketpair(2) and the sigaction(2) man pages before plowing through the following code snippets. \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.cpp 0 In the MyDaemon constructor, use the socketpair(2) function to initialize each file descriptor pair, and then create the QSocketNotifier to monitor the \e read end of each pair. The activated() signal of each QSocketNotifier is connected to the appropriate slot function, which effectively converts the Unix signal to the QSocketNotifier::activated() signal. \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.cpp 1 Somewhere else in your startup code, you install your Unix signal handlers with sigaction(2). \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.cpp 2 In your Unix signal handlers, you write a byte to the \e write end of a socket pair and return. This will cause the corresponding QSocketNotifier to emit its activated() signal, which will in turn cause the appropriate Qt slot function to run. \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.cpp 3 In the slot functions connected to the QSocketNotifier::activated() signals, you \e read the byte. Now you are safely back in Qt with your signal, and you can do all the Qt stuff you weren'tr allowed to do in the Unix signal handler. \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.cpp 4 */